Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-08-12

the puOIlc interest; out all regulations
shall be submitted to the Gov
ernor for his approvsl before aiop-
ton or PRONUNCIATION. What reg
u!ations have been submitted
TO you tor approval? Sometime ago l
wrote letter TO the corresponding clerk
of the school land department of the Gen
eral L.nd Office fer printed cory Of the
rules aud regulations adopted, surprising
the above requirement OF the law to
be the first complied with, q ne replied
20 me that "nO permanent rules Sud regu-
latiOlS appear TO have been decided upon,
and none ere printed. My instructions,
are u write correspondents that leases
VIII be accepted now, subject 10 c!assi-
tca'ion sud the rights reserved TO actual
settlers on any surveys within the lease.
y great many leases &re being
made" Ny Interpretation O. the
fifteenth section Of the act is that
the Commissioner is not presumed
or permitted 10 accept an applic6t on to
lease unless he is "satishel hat the
lands applied for are not in immediate
demand for purposes OF actual settle
ment, and that such Lands can
be leased without detriment To the
public int rest. Can see no other
reasonable Interpretation or con
struction il We attempt 10 reconcile
the various provisions Of the law, be
cause the e5Ovei section uequjVoCally
declares that "nO lands classified IS graz
ing land under this set shall ne SUBJECT
TO sale during the existence Of such lease
end the possession thereof by the lessee
shall net be disturbed during the term
CT such leas5i>o long as the rents are
PAD promptly in advance each
yeeT as required by this set"
These thugs Cause Us 10 view
with alarm the situation of The frontier
and practically Danish every hope Of an
esrly settlement OF the country. Is these
lands are lease1 before chance is given
coming emigraAt5 to buy, then the door
is closed to al sales except TIC those now
/ On the land number comparatively
few TO Whist viii come within 6 few
months after the completion of the two
railroads, the Fort Worth and d 5nver and
SS1thern Kansas, now being rapidly CON
struCted through this country from diff
ferent directions. True, the law provides
tlet the lands Clagsed es agricultural
shall be leased, subject TO sale; but from
what have seen and heard Of the state
agents sent out to classify | Can form no
Satisfactory idea Of the class in which
they will place these lands. In CONVEX
satI0n with one Of these classlters or
state agents few days ago l Learned to
my establishment that the sGent haG never
been in this pirt Of the state until he
started 70 his post OF duty; that lie knew
practically nothing about it: that ne had
been for the last eight years shat Up in
the General Land Office as craftsman
4 ho.1 ~, !,
about the country. He did not seem TO
have any rules or regulations Or even il
I struCti0ns by which ne was to be gov
crRed il making "skilliul classification
and valuation" OF the lands He aYCwed
/ his intention CT making 2 top0-
graphical report on the lands, with
Commissioner, leaving 1t to him to classi.
fly and value it. The Commissioner has
heretofore informed me that he rad no
personal knowledge Of tais country AID
ito lands. II this IS TO be the mode Of get
ting at the classification and valuation Of
these lands II occurs TO me to be g clear
case of the bliod leading the blind. Sec
ton 3 Of the lew says inst "the Commits
sioner of the General Land Office shall
c6uge ell the lands belonging to the sew
be in demand for immediate settlement to
be carefully and skillfullY classified end
valued, and for this purpose he may ap-
point, with the approval OF the
/ Governor such number of con-
petent state agents as may be
necessary TO effect such classification and
valuation" WHAT did the Legislature
mesh oy "competert state agents?" Did
it not intend that the agent should De
''competent" for this special business?
4 man who has never been in this c0Gn-
try is no more competent to classify end
value these lands than q man who never
saw snip is to classify aud value feet
Of war vessels. The appointment OF
these state agents being subject TO your
approval the people OF right may Justly
hold you responsible for q "skillful clas-
sifcation and valuation" OF these lands.
a current rumor that the dry lands arc
to be valued st 8 per acre and the wa
tered lands at So Per acre has added
much to the anxiety of She people, es-
peCially those who have settled on the
land and made improvements. This sd
many other rumors of alike disnearteninG
effect are being constantly circulated
through the country, alI OF which, ss you
veil know, will soon have decided
effect upon our progress. l believe ths'
most, if not all, Of these reports are
false snd grouadless, and perhaps circu-
lated by designing persons, but no one
can deny their evil effect upon new
Corners Into the country, who are uuac
/. quainted with the .erG cWs Of this state
You will doubtless admit that the Legis
; lsture did not contemplate the leasing O
of fnpsp lands yhpra
are in "demand for purpose:
: Of immediate settlement" You will, n
I doubt, further admit that there is ever
/, reasonable indication that the Panhandle
lands are in demand for immediate set
2 tlement," and if demanded for that pur
! pose lease, however short, could not b.
made "WithOut detriment to the pubIi
? interest" If this be true, then Wn,
2 should the intention Of the law be thu
thWarted to the sacrifice of the schoo
e fund and the sthte's admitted policy 0
} peopling the country? II the Commits
; sjoner or yourself doubt that this countr
r is on the verge OF 81 early settlement yCI
/ have evidence enough from current u
\ NOR and newspaper reports to 2
, least invite Investigation before step i
/ taken likely to prove disastrous to IL
! school fund and the best interests Of tn
: state. The school fund could not suffz
t much by holding Of leases until IN
= competent state agents" could arrive @
s the ground and Insse report upon In
q question. Leases covering vast areas O
e the country, an Informed, were cor
1 summated before &ny s.a'e agents Uer
9 appointed, st least before they arrived
5 The country. The people csnnot b